The First World War An Agrarian Interpretation [Paperback]

In this book, Offer presents a new interpretation of World War I, weaving together the economic and social history of the English-speaking world, the Pacific basin, and Germany, with the development of food production and consumption. In the special field of United States history, Offer shows the effect of American agricultural power on world politics, both before and after World War I. He describes how the social institutions of American agriculture undermined farming in Britain, and forced the British Empire to rely increasingly on overseas imports of food. Detailing the role of agrarian production and consumption in British and German defense, Offer examines the moral and legal implications of setting up whole societies as strategic targets.

Highly original and wide-ranging. --American Historical Review

Important reading for upper-division and graduate students interested in history, political and agricultural economy, and political science. Offer writes with an engaging style and musters an impressive range of evidence. --CHOICE

Dr. Offer's breadth of vision is remarkable, his scholarship is challenging, and his eye for the telling detail is keen. In range and in depth this book would be hard to equal; and its style and structure make it something of a rarity, for it is enjoyable as it is important. --Times HigherEducation Supplement